General Medicine

Podcast

Are your implantable devices sabotaging your health? Part 1December 11, 2018Are your implantable devices sabotaging your health? Award-winning investigative journalist Jeanne Lenzer joins us to discuss her book, "The Danger Within Us: America’s Untested, Unregulated Medical Device Industry and One Man’s Battle to Survive." Over 30 million Americans have them—that’s 1/10th of the population. Implantable devices include artificial hips and knees, pacemakers and defibrillators, breast implants, nerve stimulators, contraceptive devices, surgical mesh, and countless other applications. These devices can fail—sometimes with disastrous consequences. Why does the current regulatory scheme allow these minimally-tested devices to reach the marketplace? What is “disease creep”? And why is the treatment sometimes worse than the disease? What should every potential device recipient know before getting anything permanently implanted in their body? Click HERE for part 2.

Sexism In Medicine, Part 1December 6, 2018In "Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick," feminist journalist Maya Dusenbery looks at the roots of sexism in medicine. Why are women’s health complaints often dismissed? How has Freudian psychology with its notions of “hysteria” and “conversion disorders” undermined the legitimacy of women’s complaints? Women are disproportionately affected by pain syndromes like fibromyalgia, incapacitating menstrual cramps, and migraines and IBS; they are also far more likely to suffer from autoimmune disorders; they are often under-treated for heart problems which are erroneously thought to be predominantly male. Why is research lagging in these areas that so disproportionately affect women? Does greater inclusion of women in the ranks of health professionals promise more female-centric care? Or do institutional barriers within a paternalistic system limit progress? How can women surmount obstacles to equitable care? Click HERE for part 2.

The Latest Threat to the Doctor/Patient Relationship, Part 1November 6, 2018"Big Brother in the Exam Room: The Dangerous Truth about Electronic Medical Records," by Twila Brase, RN, PHN, President and Co-Founder of Citizens for Health Freedom (www.cchfreedom.org). She describes the latest threat to the doctor/patient relationship. While seeming to improve efficiency, Brase asserts that electronic medical records are actually a means of insurance company and government control. The records are insecure, decidedly not confidential, widely shared, and subject to hacks. They’re burdensome, time-consuming, and a major reason for physician burnout. They change the nature of the doctor/patient encounter, with physicians spending more time peering into a screen and less time making eye contact with patients. Brase discusses alternatives, and how medical care can be made more affordable and more efficient without reliance on an ever-growing cadre of benefit managers and government bureaucrats. Click HERE for part 2.

The Spiritual Dimension of Healing, Part 1September 25, 2018America’s foremost integrative ENT, Dr. Ben Asher, weighs in on the spiritual dimension of healing: Why does Dr. Asher characterize modern medicine as “fear-based”? What’s wrong with our contemporary conception of illness? How are patients made to suffer guilt and stigmatization for failing to ward off health problems? Why are even holistic practitioners sometimes complicit in fostering these harmful attitudes? Dr. Asher recalls his profound personal transformational experience at the hands of a Mayan healer. How has that affected his attitude towards healing? Could mindfulness help health professionals avert “compassion burnout”? How do drugs like MDMA act as “empathogens” enabling patients to recover from PTSD? Dr. Asher describes his own unique meditation practices and shares meditation resources. Click HERE for part 2.

How to Overhaul Our Costly and Inefficient Health Care System, Part 1September 20, 2018Dr. David Hyman, co-author of “Overcharged: Why Americans Pay Too Much for Healthcare,” offers proposals for how to overhaul a costly and inefficient health care system. Why do Americans pay so much for health care that other nations achieve with lower costs? What’s wrong with proposals for “universal health care” on the single-payer model that other advanced countries embrace? Why does Dr. Hyman refer to Medicare as a “Pyramid Scheme” that redistributes wealth from poorer younger Americans to the relatively affluent elderly? How do doctors game the system? Why is Medicaid a misguided solution for providing health care to the disadvantaged? Why do drugs cost so much? How do medical specialty societies guard their turf? How will Dr. Hyman’s proposed reforms expand choice and make medicine more affordable? Click HERE for part 2.

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